A Cross-Sectional Study of the Morbidity Profile of Matriarch and Non-Matriarch Women in Metropolitan City

Abstract

Background: Matriarch women are the ones who head the family. Most common reasons for being matriarch are widowhood, di- vorce, separation.In Indian society, due to socio-cultural factors, females face discrimination in health. Moreover, being matriarch, the women may be more vulnerable. Thus a study was planned to compare the morbidity profile among matriarch and non- matriarch women. Materials and method: After an ethical committee approval, cross- sectional analytical study was undertaken in BDD (Bombay De- velopment Department) chawls in the metropolitan city area from June 2015 to June 2016. Total 106 matriarch and 106 non-matriarch women were included after matching for religion and educational status. They were interviewed by using semi-structured, pre-tested questionnaire and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Data was analysed using SPSS version 16 software. Results: Proportions of acute and chronic morbidity in matriarch and non-matriarch were (50% v/s 51.89%) and (50.95% v/s 23.59%) respectively. No significant differences in symptoms like musculoskeletal complaints, headache, weakness, giddiness, ad- diction, diabetes and BMI were found. The proportion of hyper- tension, disturbed sleep, decreased appetite and stress were sig- nificantly higher in matriarch women as compared to non- matriarch. Conclusions: Hypertension and stress are significantly higher among matriarch women. There is minimal difference in the oc- currence of acute morbidity.

Keywords

• Matriarch women
• morbidity
• stress
• non-matriarch women